Authoring Cricothyroidotomy Teaching with Augmented and Virtual Reality

Cricothyroidotomy is a medical procedure whereby a tube is placed through an incision in the midline of the cricothyroid membrane. The procedure allows airway communication with the external environment for oxygenation and ventilation. Cricothyroidotomy became a life-saving procedure during the COVID-19 pandemic as the number of intubations increased to ensure breathing. Mastering cricothyroidotomy requires extensive practice, which sparked the need for rethinking training to meet its high demand. Cricothyroidotomy training relies on high-end mechatronics simulators, the use of swine tracheas, and, most recently, the use of 3D printing and computer-based simulation. While 3D printing has become widely available, there are still barriers to accessing the technology, so immersive technologies such as augmented and virtual reality have been adopted as complementary tools to help develop cognitive and motor skills. This paper presents work in progress into the development and preliminary usability, cognitive load, and presence assessments of an Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Desktop cricothyroidotomy scenario with physicians. The VR scenario led the usability and presence scores, followed by the AR and Desktop, which ranked last. Regarding the cognitive load, the AR scenario had the lowest, followed by the VR and the Desktop scenario, which had the highest.